Conservative member of parliament Priti Patel has today backed the death penalty for murderers earning less than £100,000 a year.

The MP for Witham, who has in the past professed admiration for Ayn Rand, told reporters: “Murder should never be an alternative to an honest day’s work, which is why I’m strongly in favour of a reintroduction of the death penalty for low-earners.”

“A £100,000 earnings cut-off would ensure the most important members of society are not executed, and would also provide a deterrent for the poor and workshy who would rather be housed in jail to save money.”

A spokesperson for the government, responding to our request for comment, told us: “Although this is not official policy, the government welcomes her contribution to the debate on how to get people off benefits.”

Iain Duncan Smith has reportedly demanded that those in receipt of benefits be removed from the electoral register, according to a letter leaked to the press today.

The Work and Pensions Secretary justified his request by arguing that it is unfair that people not currently paying into the system, either through working or by being high net wealth individuals, should be allowed to have a say in how public money is spent.

His letter to the Prime Minister went on to suggest that withdrawing the right to vote in this way, would provide a “much needed incentive for the workshy, ill and disabled to find work”, and for those in work to stay “in work and off benefits”. The letter also questioned whether those under the age of 25, who tend to be “more prone to idealism”, ought to be permitted to vote, albeit with a possible exception “for members of the Young Conservatives.”

There is speculation in Westminster that the timing of this letter is related to the upcoming referendum on whether the UK should leave the EU, and a possible snap general election that some are predicting to take place thereafter. In this context, barring voters who are the least likely to vote for ‘Brexit’ or for the Conservative Party, may be seen by some as a useful measure.

A DWP spokeswoman refused to comment directly on the leaked letter, but told reporters: “Iain Duncan Smith believes that in a perfect world everybody would be able to enjoy a full suite of human rights, but with rights come responsibilities, and some rights should only be granted to those who have paid-in.”

Astrology really does work, but only if the ninth planet is taken into account, NASA revealed today.

With the recent discovery of Planet Nine, NASA scientists quickly realized the reason astrology didn’t work properly was because the planet was not being taken into consideration. But after they had been carefully reformulated to include the ninth planet, the team of scientists discovered that astrological horoscopes were able to accurately predict the minutiae of their daily lives.

Lead scientist of NASA’s astrology project, Dr. Hans Zarkov, told journalists: “The revelation concerning the now proven reality of astrology has opened up exciting new frontiers in science, and here at NASA we stand proud at the forefront of research efforts to go beyond solar system astrology; we are currently developing an extra-galactic astrological system that may revolutionize our understanding of the Universe and its origins, as well as provide fresh perspectives on mankind’s race to harness the power of celestial bodies like stars and black holes, to meet Earth’s energy needs.”

Nicknamed ‘Planet Nine’ by researchers, the planet weighs roughly 10 times more than Earth and orbits approximately 20 times farther from the Sun than Neptune does.

Citing concerns over reports that people who are out of work, disabled, or opposed to the UK’s intervention in Syria may be obtaining treatment on the NHS, the prime minister and Hilary Benn today gave impassioned speeches about Britishness and war.

A spokesman for the prime minister said: “The NHS is supported by terrorist sympathiser Jeremy Corbyn, and as such endangers national security. In order to keep hard working Britons safe from terrorism, the NHS urgently needs to be dismantled and sold off to David’s mates in the private health industry, who can then provide healthcare to those who are willing to work hard to pay into an exorbitant healthcare plan.”

Laura Kuenssberg, the Political Editor of Conservative News, tweeted: “Corbyn looking weak on security and out of touch on NHS dismantling.”

Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith has provoked renewed outrage with a new proposal to privatise food banks. Private companies would be allowed to operate food banks for profit, conditional on the implementation of a strict regime of sanctions to be decided by DWP officials.

Food banks are not for profit organisations which provide food to those who are unable to buy sufficient food to avoid hunger or malnutrition — problems which are often the direct result of benefit cuts or sanctions.

G4S, expected to be among those preparing a bid to run food banks across the country, caused a furor last month when they published a report proposing that food bank users should be electronically tagged and should be made clearly identifiable by wearing a special badge.

A spokesperson for the DWP said: “Iain Duncan Smith is leading a revolution against welfare, and it’s essential that nothing stands in the way of the DWP’s plan to starve the sick, disabled and unemployed into a zero-hours contract at Poundland.”